February 17, 2009

There are some who might take issue with Devra Lerner’s recent “As I See It” column on Israel and Gaza (2/11, Opinion, “Hamas’ actions show lack of care for Palestinian people”). But it’s difficult to find fault with her final statement: “Ultimately, peace will come when Hamas loves its people more than it hates Israel.”

Why did Israel vacate the Gaza strip yet maintain a military blockade around it? Can this really be called autonomy for its inhabitants?

Why does Israel insist that Hamas act as a responsible governing body yet refuse to officially recognize it, branding it a terrorist organization with no diplomatic recourse?

Why would Israel launch a full-scale military assault on one of the most densely populated pockets of humanity on Earth, yet accuse its defenders of using its citizens as “human shields?” Where else would you have them fight?

August 16, 2008

Loeb Granoff defends the indefensible (8/11, Opinion, “Israel was forced to impose tough border controls”). It is wrong to seize people’s water, farms, businesses and homes, then prevent them from freely moving in their own land; to prevent them attending schools and universities; to limit food and fuel and medicines so that many die; to bomb and strafe and shoot and maim, to kill randomly; to imprison and torture.

Mr. Granoff might want to take a closer look at the historical record of the conflict before he begrudges Yaser Wishah’s visit to his ailing father in Gaza. Mr. Wishah threw stones as a youth. He tried to fight soldiers who pinned his mother on the floor, then was sent to jail for 10 months.

Would Mr. Granoff not defend his own mother if someone attacked her? Would Mr. Granoff not defend his own house? Would he not pick up something, anything, to throw at an intruder?

August 08, 2008

Sincere thanks to The Star for carrying the news story about the plight of U.S. citizen Yaser Wishah (who happens to have been born in Gaza) caught in the Israeli occupation of territories captured in the 1967 “Six-Day War” (8/4, A-1, “Native Palestinian can’t escape stigma”). Also, Wishah’s “As I See It” essay (8/5, Opinion, “Israeli restrictions on Gaza unfairly hinder Palestinian”) reinforces the message about what it’s like to live under the thumb of a regime that talks “security” while engaging in collective punishment, violations of human rights, and disregard for international laws.

While all Americans are concerned about the future of the State of Israel and want to ensure its future, we must also be concerned with principles of freedom and justice for all peoples — including Palestinians.

Again, thank you for printing these two pieces. I encourage you to continue to tell all sides of the story regarding the ongoing problems of the Middle East.

James S. WalkerKansas City

Recent articles about and by area resident Yaser Wishah demonstrate the suffering endured by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza from Israel’s occupation.

Israel attempts to justify its actions under the banner of “security,” even if the Palestinians must bear at least some responsibility for their own fate. But Israeli overreactions, such as collective punishment, only fan the flames of extremism; they harm the Palestinians, the Israelis, and the Middle East peace process itself.

American Jews are now recognizing the extent of Palestinian suffering, and that the occupation must end since it is as costly to Israelis as it is to Palestinians. It’s also imperative to remember that Israeli and Palestinian lives are intertwined so that their joint security and future depend on finding constructive ways to deal with situations that don’t result in a “zero-sum game.”

Finally, Israel will only have peace if she negotiates with her Arab neighbors with the active involvement of U.S diplomats and politicians, the results of which would include a new, independent viable Palestinian state next door.

For years I have admired the strength and endurance of Palestinians living or visiting the Gaza Strip. I find heartrending that Israel not only blocks entries and exits but controls their fuel, their food, their electricity and uses collective punishment to respond to the actions of a few. I often wonder how I would respond to such living conditions.

It is way past time for the United States to stop supporting such punitive actions by the Israeli government.

Mary SumnerIndependence

Thank you for Wishah’s story. It goes to prove that we don’t have to buy into the vitriol that often accompanies stories of this sort. The real point is that fear has been used to justify the systematic denial of our rights to American citizens.

Yes, we must be vigilant, but we should also get to know the people next door, even if they are different. We should remember that Israelis and Palestinians are human beings, and there is injustice on both sides that must be stopped. I applaud The Star for its coverage.

Jeff HumfeldKansas City

There are two sides to every story. Thank you to The Star for illustrating the frustration Yaser Wishah was forced to endure. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza endure these hardships and worse daily.

Israel will not be secure without agreeing to a just, viable, two-state solution. Our government should help both sides achieve this goal.

We U.S. citizens need to be better informed. Balanced media coverage accurately portraying life in Israel and in Palestine is essential.

June 14, 2008

Recently, some letter writers to The Star (6/6) have stated that “the two-state solution (of Israel and Palestine) is no longer viable.” Rather, they say a single state for both Jews and Arabs is preferable.But anyone with even a modest knowledge of history knows that the wounds and barriers, both real and psychological, between these two peoples over the past 60-plus years render that improbable anytime soon.

Living next door to Israel with its vibrant press, where dissent is more freely expressed than in the U.S., Palestinians appreciate and even envy this and other aspects of Israeli life, while they are understandably critical of how they perceive their neighbor is treating them.

If both Israelis and Palestinians keep in mind that a single state might be in their foreseeable future, they’ll continue perfecting their respective states. This process reduces the animosity between them and, within a few years, would create even stronger ties, including the possibility of a single state.

However, without this interim step of the two states living side-by-side in peace for several years, the idea of both peoples agreeing to create one state seems impossible.

Sen. Obama recently appeared before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful lobbying group supporting Israel, and stated that as president he would be uncompromising in his defense of Israel’s security.

I continue to read about issues related to the Middle East and wonder why our country continues to see itself as Israel’s big brother. It is clear that a great many of our national problems stem from our government’s determination to ensure the security and well being of the nation of Israel.

I certainly understand the practicalities behind this long-standing policy. Our country has a large Jewish population, which strongly favors support for Israel. Those individuals and their organizations vote for and contribute to politicians.

But, other than as a matter of political expediency for individual office holders, why as a nation do we have to invest so much of our own national well-being in the fate of Israel? I cannot see where it is in our national best interest to continue to focus on what is best for Israel as opposed to what is best for our own country. Among other things, we are alienating the people with the oil.

June 02, 2008

Have we really fallen so far down the rabbit hole that Dunkin’ Donuts has fearfully withdrawn a commercial because Michelle Malkin imagined that Rachael Ray was wearing a keffiyeh, the traditional scarf worn by Middle Easterners? (5/30, Opinion, “Celebrities should know violence is never chic”.) Have we now entered the era of neo-McCarthyism fearmongering and prejudice?

I’m surprised that Malkin failed to notice that the trees in the background of the commercial have pink blossoms — an obvious reference to communism that should result in the blossoms being immediately removed and blacklisted.

I am an ardent supporter of free speech, and I like to read views that are opposed to my own. However, Malkin’s columns have descended to the level of irrational diatribes that do not deserve publication anywhere.

Paul DeRanekKansas City

I pray that someday soon we will wake up and see what has happened to us. When one person, who spends most of her time shouting hate from the lunatic fringe, can cause a major American company to pull an ad because the spokesperson wears a scarf that “appeared to be a keffiyeh” (which it was not), then things have gone too far.

The scarf didn’t even look like the Palestinian headgear Michelle Malkin refers to. And yet, Dunkin’ Donuts is forced to pull the ad faster than John McCain can dump a lobbyist.

We have lost touch with the things that really matter and we spend too much time listening to the people who really don’t.

Herb H. WhitePlattsburg, Mo.

This neo-McCarthyism over the keffiyeh needs to stop. What’s next, planting car bombs against the Shriners because they wear the red fez and have scimitars in their logo? Our troops wear keffiyehs in Iraq and Afghanistan because they block sun, sand and wind.

Want to get away from a terrorist-acquiescing attitude? I have some suggestions to help relieve our collective American psyche: Drive less, don’t buy Chinese products, take down your rebel flag and give land back to American Indians.

If this keffiyeh debate has roots in our Christian nation supporting a Jewish one, then how about the Judeo-Christian adages of a. let those without sin cast the first stone and b. it’s hard to see the splinter in your brother’s eye when you have a 2-by-4 sticking out of yours.

March 13, 2008

Israel has the right to defend itself against ongoing rocket and suicide attacks against innocent civilians, and that includes targeting the terrorists, their rocket launchers and their weapon storehouses.

Sadly, many Palestinians commit war crimes by placing their weapons and terrorists within heavily populated Palestinian civilian areas. Out of respect for innocent civilians, Israel does its best to avoid harming non-combatants. But any Palestinian civilians inadvertently hurt when Israel strikes back against terrorists and their weapons are the fault of the Palestinians who use the civilians as human shields.

Most amazing and distressing is the lack of outrage and condemnation by the United Nations of these acts of terrorism.

March 11, 2008

The scenes of celebration in Gaza on CNN about the massacre of eight innocent people in Jerusalem were sickening, and the words of Hamas leaders were repulsive.

But what else do we expect? There’s no moral high ground within the Israeli community either. Numerous needless deaths every week for years from the guns and weapons of Israel have occurred in the Gaza prison.

This Saturday’s Community Festival for Justice and Peace, for all ages at UMKC, should underscore the futility of seeking peace without justice, thereby spawning these brutal maxims that sadly have propelled so many persecuted groups since David was a young boy.

Ms. Whitmore was noting the resemblance of the situations and actions of Palestinian refugees escaping Gaza with that of the children of Israel at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Rabbi White understands her as comparing Hamas and the Hebrews. I’m wondering if this is unintentional or a purposeful misrepresentation.

Further, Rabbi White mentions the Hebrews’ population increase. He might consider the tendency of a people repressed and impoverished to have a much higher birth rate. It is also operative in this instance. The worse the living conditions of refugees disinherited and expelled from their ancestral homes in the state of Israel, the higher their numbers become.

Barbara LeClerqOverland Park

Collective punishment?

If all the residents of the Gaza Strip deserve to be punished because of the Qassam rockets, then perhaps all Israelis deserve to be punished because of the illegal occupation of Palestine.